Episode · The Book Review · 2017-12-22
Books mentioned on 'The Story of the Jews' Continues
Pamela Paul discussed The Story of the Jews, by Simon Schama, The Face of Britain by Simon Schama, The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel, Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre, A Spy Among Friends Kim Philby And The Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre and others, and The Secret River by Kate Grenville. Greg Cowles recommended Jesus' son by Denis Johnson and The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, and discussed Angle of repose by Wallace Stegner, The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson, and Angels by Denis Johnson. Jennifer Szalai discussed Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Story of the Jews,
Discussed“his latest book is the story of the Jews volume two belonging 1492 to 1900”
Where to get it
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The Face of Britain
Simon Schama examines portraiture, history, and national identity in his book The Face of Britain.
Discussed“it was a book in tween that you did about British portraiture the face of Britain”
Where to get it
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The Jewish State
The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl is a foundational political pamphlet that outlined the vision for a modern homeland for the Jewish people and catalyzed the modern Zionist movement.
Discussed“I have to say one of the most significant non-liturgical forms of writing that you end the book with is Theodore herzl's pamphlet The Jewish state”
Where to get it
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Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel is a richly illustrated and scholarly exploration of twelve significant medieval manuscripts, offering readers a fascinating journey into the history, creation, and cultural context of these rare texts.
Discussed“his new book is called meetings with remarkable manuscripts 12 Journeys into the Medieval World”
Where to get it
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Angle of repose
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner is a sweeping historical fiction novel that follows a historian researching his grandparents' lives on the nineteenth-century American frontier.
Discussed“which book is that angle Repose angle Repose exactly which is”
Where to get it
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The Largesse of the Sea Maiden
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson is a posthumous short story collection by the acclaimed author.
Discussed“and that's um Dennis Johnson's postumus Story collection the laress of the sea maiden”
Where to get it
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Jesus' son
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson is a slender, potent 1992 collection of interconnected short stories that explores the stark and harrowing experiences of its narrator and other fringe characters.
Recommended“when we talk about books that they can't buy yet I thought that instead I would um talk about his first Story collection and only other Story collection besides less of the seid and it's the 1990 collection Jesus's son”
Where to get it
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Tree of Smoke
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson is a massive, sprawling novel set during the Vietnam War that won the National Book Award for its unflinching portrayal of the conflict.
Discussed“he won the national book award for his novel tree of smoke which was a big kind of sprawling Vietnam novel”
Where to get it
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Angels
Discussed“uh it followed the same character as the protagonist of his very first novel called Angels which came out in 1980”
Where to get it
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Stories of Your Life and Others
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is an acclaimed collection of speculative short fiction that explores complex philosophical, linguistic, and temporal concepts.
Discussed“so I picked up this book by Ted Chang it's called stories of your life and others”
Where to get it
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The Varieties of Religious Experience
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James is a foundational work of psychology and philosophy based on the author's landmark lectures on human consciousness and spirituality.
Recommended“and then I just thought I would very briefly mention because I kind of went back this week to one of my favorite books which is um William James's the varieties of religious experience which I wrote about for the paper this week”
Where to get it
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Operation Mincemeat
Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre is a gripping historical non-fiction account detailing a bizarre and brilliant World War II scheme that utilized a dead man to deceive Nazi Germany and secure an Allied victory.
Discussed“well I finished operation mince meet by Ben McIntyre earlier this week um the subtitle is how a dead man and a bizarre plan fooled the Nazis and assured an Allied Victory”
Where to get it
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A Spy Among Friends Kim Philby And The Great Betrayal
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre is a gripping historical non-fiction book that details the life and betrayal of the notorious British double agent Kim Philby and his association with the Cambridge Five spy ring.
Discussed“um I I think that among the McIntyre books that I've read I I still prefer a spy among friends”
Where to get it
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The Secret River
The Secret River by Kate Grenville is a powerful historical novel that follows an English convict who attempts to build a new life in the harsh Australian landscape, confronting complex moral questions regarding indigenous displacement.
Discussed“and the book is called the secret River”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“including a really thriving literary community and Publishing industry and you go into the bookstores there and there are just you know shelves and shelves of Australian fiction of people that maybe you've heard of some of them obviously they they they do tend to get over here but not all and when you leave I mean for me other”